Petrol, diesel price hike: No increase in rates today; Delhi High Court to hear PIL over high fuel prices

The PIL was filed on Tuesday with an objective to stop the incessant hike in prices of petrol and diesel.

Image: ANI

New Delhi: Delhi High Court will conduct hearing on a public interest litigation seeking the sale of petrol and diesel at reasonable prices, on Wednesday. The PIL was filed on Tuesday with an objective to stop the incessant hike in prices of petrol and diesel.  On Wednesday however, prices have not escalated further. The plea which will be heard today in High Court, seeks directive to Central government and petroleum companies to bring to a halt the regular change/increase in the petrol and diesel prices. The plea had asked the court for a hearing on Tuesday, but the court had said that the hearing will be conducted on Wednesday. The petitioner is a Delhi-based designer Pooja Mahajan. In the plea, the petitioner has sought a directive to the government to fix the price of petrol and diesel in accordance with the Essential Commodities Act. Instead of fixing the fair price, the government has delegated the powers to Oil Manufacturing Companies (OMC) and this kind of procedure being followed by the Government is unconstitutional, illegal and contrary to the mandate of the Section 3(1) of the Essential Commodities Act," the plea read. "The government is not playing its true role which the government ought to have played but instead of that it has given a open hand to these oil companies to exploit the public at large and to charge/demand enhanced prices by assuming and presuming the cost of crude oil at the international level." The petitioner also alleged that the oil companies had stopped increasing the prices when the Karnataka election campaign was going on. "There is no explanation on the part of government/OMCs that why the fuel prices remained static for approximately 22 days during the Karnataka elections. This factual position do establish that the government is indirectly controlling the fuel prices and do establish that fuel prices have some connection with the elections," the plea added. Mahajan had filed a similar plea in July but the High Court had then directed the Centre to treat the PIL as a representation. Mahajan said the government did not consider the representation and has not taken a decision in this matter. (Inputs from IANS)